Tool for removing radio tubes and vibrators



A. c. POTHIIR ET 2,491,132

TOOL FOR REMOVING RADIO TUBES AND VIBRATORS Filed June 19, 1947 INVENTORS, Arha? QPoifiz'er BY y flrwold 6111010;

Attorney of corrosion of the parts. within which the tool can operate is usually extremely limited, and .most tubes are of fragile Iglass.

Patented Dec. 13, 1949 TOOL FOR REMOVING RADIO TUBES-AND VIBRA'IORS Arthur 0. Potliier and Arnoldc." Howe, Portland, Maine Application June 19, 1947., SeriaLNmdfiSgSfi 7 Claims.

and similar objects which usually must be removed under very trying conditions.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will quickly and easily remove radio tubes and the like under most difficult conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device'of this character which will quickly and easily remove radio tubes and the like regardless of how limited the working space may be.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will quickly and easily remove radio tubes and the like When in highly heated condition during operation, and regardless of the corroded condition of the parts.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will quickly and easily remove even the most fragile glass tubes without any danger of injury to the tube or to the operator.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a tool of this character whichwill quickly and easily remove radio tubes, vibrators and the like, whether such tubes or vibrators are cylindrical throughout or have enlarged portions.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the radio art from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of the tool in combination with a fragmentary representation of any conventional radio;

Figure 2 is a perspective viewof the tool positioned to remove a tube;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the tool in combination with a tube it has lifted from place; parts of the tool being shown in section to more clearly illustrate the structure; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view 'of the device, with parts broken away.

. The removal of radio tubes, vibrators, etc., has long been a problem. The tubes often have to be removed when in highly heated condition, for example when in operation, and during tests on the production line. But whether hotor cold, tubes are often very difficult to remove because Then too, the space Prior to the present invention no tool. has been devised which will quickly and easily remove tubes under the difli'cult conditions mentioned above, and. particularly fragile glass tubes. 11; will be understood that. in the use of' the word tube herein and in the claims or elsewhere, it' is intended to include not only radio tubes used in home sets, automobile sets, aviation sets, radar, etc, but alsovibrators. and such devices used in" such sets.

Referring'now to the. drawings, numeral I" indicates a lever in the form of a hand grip, and numeral l -indicates a lower fixed hand grip ;f these parts; to be gripped by' the hand in operation; the forward ends of the hand grips being hingedly connected to'a link 3.

soldered, welded-or otherwise'rigidly attached to and depending from the lower hand grip 2 is" a relatively long, slender tubular member or sleeve 4. Numeral 5 indicates a foot which, is weldedtoorintegral with the lower end of the tubular member. And housed within this tubular member is a spindle orplunger 6, which preferabiy has a pointed" lower end 1. This pointed lower end makes a minute indentation in, the floor of the chassis, in the operation of the tool, and thus-prevents-any slippage, and avoids the necessity of any-"pre-arranged construction of the chassis floor to hold the tool against slippage.

And it will also be noted that as the lower portion of the spindle and its pointed end are entirely housed within the sleeve 4', until the toolils actually operated to lift the tube, there is nothing to prevent the-foot from being quickly arranged. in

the desired position for tube removal which,.ob-

viousIy, would not be the case if the lower end of the-spindle and the pointed" end projected from the foot during the positioning of the foot.

The lever and handle 2 are shown as hollow, and the lower side of the lever I is provided with an opening 8 to'receive the upper end portion 9 of the spindle or plunger 6. The diameter of the opening- 8 is slightly greater than the diameter of the upper end portion 9 of the spindle,

so'as to permit free swinging movement of the ,in position by any of the well known means. the specific form illustrated the tube is of glass with a metal base I 4, and the base is provided In connection with the detailed construction described immediately above, and best shown in Figure 4, it will be noted that the coil spring normally forces the spindle 6 and the lever I upwardly, so that the lower end of the spindle is normally housed within the sleeve 4. And that the free upward movement of these parts is limited by the wall of the opening 8 contacting with the portion 9 of the spindle, in the upward swinging movement of the lever. It will also be noted that to remove the spindle and spring, for repair or replacement, it is only necessary to compress the spring by finger pressure on the bead, whereupon the lever I can be thrown entirely clear of the spindle, so that the spindle and spring can be removed. The parts are assembledin the reverse manner; the spindle being inserted inthe sleeve, with the spring mounted thereon between the upper side of the handle 2 and the lower side of the bead II, and then the spindle is pressed downwardly by finger pressure to compress the spring, and the lever I is then swung over so that .the upper end 9 of the spindle will enter the hole 8. The parts are then released, whereby the 1 spring will cause the parts to snap to the position I shown in Figure 4, ready for use.

Numeral I3 refers to a radio tube which may be of any desired type, and the tube may be entirely of glass, or of glass with a metal base, or

ot any other material of which radio tubes are,

made. And, of course, the tube may be mounted with a depending centrally arranged plug I5;

around which are a plurality of depending fingers I6. In mounting the tube in operative position the plug I5 and fingers I6 are inserted in appropriate openings IT and I8, respectively, as is well 40 known. a

While the tubes are easily inserted in a set, it

is often most difiicult to remove them, because of the small space in which a tool can operate, and it is particularly difficult when the parts have become corroded, with resulting verdigris deposits, etc. And the problem of removal is aggravated, of course, when the tubes must be removed when highly heated, as is often the case.

The operationof the present invention in removing tubes, vibrators, etc., is extremely simple.

'The handle 2 is always in fixed position relative to the depending tubular member or sleeve 4; these two parts preferably being arranged at -.right angles, as clearly'shown in the drawings. .When the operator takes the device in his hand,

the horizontal handle 2 rests on his fingers, and

.the sleeve 4 projects downwardly through his fingers.

In the specific embodiment illustrated the relatively long depending sleeve 4 and spindle spindle is housed within the sleeve.

, (2') So to remove a tube it is only'necessary to lower the hand until the foot 5 strikes the floor or base I 9 of the chassis, and then force the foot under the bottom of the tube; the position of the various parts now being as illustrated in Figure 2.

-6 normally hang vertically downward when the .device is resting freely on the fingers, with the hand lever I inclined upwardly in the same vertical-plane, and of course the lower end of the 4 about the upper end of the spindle; the head I l acting as a fulcrum for the lever. This leverage movement lifts the tubular member with its foot 5, as the tubular member is fixed to the hand grip 2 which is connected to the lever by the link 3. Of course the pointed end of the spindle 6 remains in engagement with the floor I9 of the chassis. This action results in lifting the tube vertically; its removal being easy, quick and certain. It should be mentioned at this point that when the device is operated to remove a tube, it is usually necessary to press a finger of the other hand against the opposite upper end of the tube to maintain it in substantially vertical position during removal. The position of the parts when -the device has been operated to remove a tube is shown in Figure 3.

The device is now released, whereupon the spring I2 forces the lever I away from the grip 2, to thereby draw the lower end of the spindle 6 .within the tubular member 4; the movement of the lever I being limited by the wall of the opening 8 engaging the upper end portion a of the spindle.

. In connection with the operation of the tool,

attention is called particularly to the shape of the foot 5 relative to the tubular member or sleeve 4. The drawings illustrate the tool in use with tubes or vibrators which are cylindrical in shape. And by reference to the drawings, par- ,ticularly in Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that when the tool is in vertical position the foot inclines slightly downwardly from the tubular member 4, so that the foot is readily inserted beneath the tube or vibrator.

. However, radio tubes, vibrators, and the like are often made of such shape that an upper porthe fioor of the chassis, in proper position to be inserted for the removal operation.

This is best understood by reference to Figure 3.

'Let it be assumed that the parts in that figure are shown prior to the operation of the tool to lift the tube. The tool is in vertical position and the foot is inclined downwardly so that its toe rests on the floor of the chassis, ready to be inserted beneath the tube, which is shown in this instance as of the cylindrical type. But suppose the tube is bulged or flared or of any shape having an upper portion of greater diameter than the lower portion or base. In that event it is only necessary to incline the tool slightly outward from the vertical position shown, as far as necessary to clear the enlarged part of the tube, or until the entire foot rests upon the chassis floor, whereupon the toe still remains in position to be inserted beneath the tube. Thus it is clear that even in the restricted spaces within which .the tool operates, it is particularly designed to remove tubes and the like regardless of the shape thereof.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that we have devised a very simple and inexpensive tool which greatly facilitates the "removal of tubes, vibrators and the like, however limited the working space may be, and regardless of the corroded condition of the parts or the heated condition of the tube or the fragility thereof.

Having fully described the invention, what we claim is:

l. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot on the lower end of the tubular member and extending laterally therefrom, said foot shaped to engage under a tube, a spindle housed within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of a chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the tubular member, a hand grip rigidly fixed to the upper portion of the tubular member, and a hand lever pivotally mounted relative to the hand grip, said hand lever having one end operatively connected with the hand grip to lift the hand grip and attached tubular member to remove a tube when the other end of said lever is pressed downwardly.

2. A tool for removing radio tubes including a long slender member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot on the lower end of said member to engage under a tube, a spindle associated with said member and adapted to engage the floor of a chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the upper end of said member, a hand grip rigidly attached to the upper portion of said member, a bead or flange adjacent the upper end of the spindle, a coil spring on the upper portion of the spindle between said hand grip and said bead or flange, and a hand lever engaging said bead or flange, relative movement of the hand lever and hand grip causing upward movement of said member to remove a tube.

3. A tool for removing radio tubes including a long slender member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot on the lower end of said member to engage under a tube, a spindle associated with said member and adapted to engage the floor of a chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the upper end of said member, a hand grip rigidly attached to the upper portion of said member, a bead adjacent the upper end of the spindle, a coil spring on the upper portion of the spindle between said hand grip and said bead, a hand lever engaging said bead, and a portion of said spindle above the bead engaging an opening in the hand lever, relative movement of the hand grip and hand lever causing upward movement of said member to remove a tube.

4. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot on the lower end of said member to engage under a tube, a spindle housed within said tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of a chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the upper end of the tubular member, a hand grip rigidly attached to the upper portion of the tubular member, a bead adjacent the upper end of the spindle, a coil spring on the upper portion of the spindle between said hand grip and said bead, a hand lever engaging the bead, the hand grip and hand lever being pivotally connected, the hand lever having an opening extending through its lower side, and a portion of said spindle above the bead extending through said opening, relative movement of the hand lever and hand grip causing upward movement of the tubular member to remove a tube.

5. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot extending laterally from the lower end of the tubular member and shaped to engage under a tube, said foot inclined slightly downwardly from said member whereby the toe of the foot will be so positioned as to engage under a tube whether said member is in vertical position or inclined away from the tube to be removed, a spindle housed within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of the chassis, and a hand lever operable to lift the tubular member to remove a tube.

6. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot at the lower end of the tubular member and extending laterally therefrom, said foot shaped to engage under a tube, a spindle housed within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of the chassis, the lower end of the spindle being pointed to cause in operation a minute indentation in the chassis floor to prevent slipping, and a hand lever operable to lift the tubular member to remove a tube.

'7. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot at the lower end of the tubular member and extending laterally therefrom, said foot shaped to engage under a tube, a spindle mounted within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of the chassis, the lower end of the spindle being pointed, a spring causing the lower portion of the spindle to be normally housed in the tubular member, and a hand lever operable to lift the tubular member to remove a tube.

ARTHUR C. POTHIER. ARNOLD C. HOWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,258,016 Kepner Mar. 5, 1918 1,623,912 Dunn Apr. 5, 1927 1,707,842 Buckle Apr. 2, 1929 2,124,039 Mitchell July 19, 1938 2,215,015 Richard Sept. 17, 1940 2,294.542 Chulick Sept. 1, 1942 

